Lot 1 : f - GUSTAV KLIMT

Gustav Klimt - 1862-1918

Auction Location: United Kingdom - 2004
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Artist or Maker:

1862-1918

Date:

Executed circa 1898-99.

Description:

signed Gustav Klimt (lower right)

MÄDCHEN MIT LANGEM HAAR IM PROFIL, MIT SKIZZE DER 'NUDA VERITAS' (GIRL WITH LONG HAIR IN PROFILE, WITH A SKETCH FOR 'NUDA VERITAS')

Medium:

pastel on paper

Dimensions:

55.5 by 37.5cm.

21 7/8 by 14 3/4in.

Provenance:

PROPRETY FROM A PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTION

Dr. George J. Kien, Vienna and New York
Thence by descent to the present owner

Notes:

This beautifully executed pastel was probably drawn towards the end of 1898, bearing a strong resemblance with several female profiles that Klimt executed around that time. In particular, it is close to Brustbild eines Mädchens mit langem Haar im Profil nach links (Strobl, no. 432), which is dominated by elegantly flowing verticals of the woman's hair, and to Reinzeichnung 'Thalia und Melpomene' (Strobl, no. 441), focusing on two women, one in profile and one in three-quarter profile. In the present work, the pale face and body of the woman in profile are contrasted with her long hair rendered in blue and brown pastel. Her figure is silhouetted against the orange background, which blends with the hair of the woman to the left. This second figure is probably a study for Klimt's monumental Nuda Veritas of 1899 (fig. 1). The delicacy and suppleness with which the present work was executed points to the importance of 19th century artists, such as Fernand Khnopff (fig. 2) on Klimt's early drawings.

Mädchen mit langem Haar im Profil was originally acquired by Dr George J. Kien, a Viennese dermatologist and collector who worked at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Vancouver from the early 1950s. Dr George J. Kien came from an aristocratic family in Vienna, and he immigrated to New York with his parents, Dr Josef and Emma Kien. The Kien family were art patrons in Austria, and bought a number of paintings and watercolours from young and emerging artists, as well as sponsoring musicians. This previously unknown pastel was passed on from Dr Kien to the present owner, and has remained in the same family ever since.

Fig. 1, Gustav Klimt, Nuda Veritas, 1899, oil on canvas, Private Collection
Fig. 2, Fernand Khnopff, Les Lèvres rouges, 1897, coloured crayons on paper